With rising regulatory demands, shifting consumer expectations, and fierce market competition, banks and financial institutions are under immense pressure to provide instant, personalised, and compliant customer service at scale. But traditional support models are buckling under this pressure, and generic chatbots often fall short, lacking both the context and empathy today’s customers expect.
EBO’s recent virtual fireside chat, “AI for Banking & Fintech – Achieve Outstanding CX,” brought together leaders from Microsoft, Bank of Valletta (BOV), and EBO to explore how AI and intelligent automation are transforming customer experience across banks, EMIs, and fintechs.
Moderated by Trudy Kerr, the conversation revealed how cutting-edge AI solutions are helping financial institutions overcome operational challenges while improving scalability, ROI, and service quality.
Here are the top insights and takeaways that emerged from this industry-led discussion.
How Microsoft sees AI redefining the financial services landscape
Jorge Diaz-Zapater, Industry Advisor at Microsoft highlighted how the accelerated shift from traditional AI to generative, conversational, and agentic AI is fundamentally reshaping the banking industry.
He emphasised that today’s customers expect seamless, multilingual, 24/7 conversational interfaces and banks that fail to meet this standard risk falling behind.
Jorge also noted that AI is transforming internal operations, enabling employees to create their own AI-driven solutions. This evolution relies on a secure cloud foundation, advanced data integration for hyper-personalization, and the rise of specialized AI models. Together, these trends mark a new era of democratised, secure, and customer-centric innovation in banking.
Real-Time Literacy Assessment: AI That Adapts to the Customer
Dr. Gege Gatt, CEO of EBO.ai, opened the session with a thought-provoking keynote on the future of customer experience in banking. He challenged the industry’s overreliance on functional, but emotionally-void, digital systems, urging a shift toward intelligent, human-like conversations powered by AI.
Highlighting the critical need for empathy, inclusivity, and clarity, Dr. Gatt shared eight breakthrough capabilities transforming how banks engage with their customers. He discussed EBO's dynamic literacy assessment functionaly that tailors interactions based on individual customer understanding, aiming to improve digital adoption and reduce churn. He also highlighted the importance of applying behavioral science to technology to guide customer interactions, especially for those with low digital literacy skills.
Ebo's conversational AI was presented as a solution that integrates with core banking systems, allowing for real-time customer service actions such as blocking cards and addressing fraud. The platform's compliance with regulatory standards and built-in analytics for performance tracking were noted as key features.
Agentic AI that turns conversations into action at Bank of Valletta
Daniel Caruana, Head of Customer Service at Bank of Valletta (BOV), shared a powerful example of how AI isn’t just improving response times, it’s enabling smarter, data-driven decisions that enhance the customer experience. Since the launch of BOV’s virtual assistant, Bovey, which utonomously manages a significant volume of customer queries, monthly interactions have grown from just a few hundred to nearly 3,000. But more importantly, these conversations are being used to proactively identify pain points.
Through chat analysis, BOV noticed a recurring trend: many customers were requesting higher withdrawal or spending limits on ATMs and point-of-sale transactions. Instead of simply handling these requests one by one, the team took action, automatically adjusting limits based on usage patterns, thereby eliminating the need for customers to ask. This change not only improved customer satisfaction, but also streamlined service delivery.
Daniel points out a clear example of how conversational AI can go beyond answering questions, becoming a powerful tool for continuous feedback, operational efficiency, and proactive customer care.
Meeting Customer through AI technology
Brian Joseph Pace Bonnici noted that customer expectations in banking have significantly increased, with a focus on speed and personalised service through AI technologies. He explained that AI can streamline processes like loan applications, making them quicker and more efficient. Jorge Diaz-Zapater added that the current AI revolution is more inclusive than previous technological advancements, allowing for better engagement across diverse customer segments.
Microsoft's Approach to Compliance and managing customer data
When addressing compliance, Jorge outlined Microsoft's proactive approach which involves continuous communication with regulators and the development of tools like compliance manager to help banks stay compliant. He noted that Microsoft's cloud solutions are designed to inherently meet industry regulations.
Jorge also discussed how Microsoft supports banks in managing sensitive customer data when deploying AI in cloud environments. He highlighted that the data remains proprietary to the bank and is protected by end-to-end encryption and confidential computing. Microsoft is committed to data ownership and the availability of localized solutions for sensitive data scenarios.
Let there be Change
Want to find out how EBO’s AI can elevate your customer experience and streamline operations? Connect with David Muscat, EBO’s Financial Services Director.
David and the team would love to explore your organisation’s unique challenges and discuss how our AI solutions can make a measurable impact.
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